June 12, 2014

A Peace Labyrinth – to be carved out of a field grass – is growing on Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby Mountain campus.
It will become open to the public during a celebration on the Strand Field on summer solstice, June 21, 2014.
The peace labyrinth is an example of some of the subtle ways spiritual symbolism and concerns are making their way on to secular campuses. It’s the brainchild of Ellen Vaillancourt, a dedicated coordinator ... Read More …

Samsung took to Madison Square Garden today to launch its latest salvo in the tablet wars, unveiling a new flagship tablet the Galaxy Tab S with the same super sharp screen technology of its Galaxy S5 smartphone in a form factor that’s even skinnier and lighter weight than Apple’s top iPad line.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S comes in two sizes, the larger at 10.5 inches with the smaller one at 8.4 inches and both ... Read More …

21st annual East Vancouver Garden Tour:
Sunday (Father’s Day) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Features more than a dozen gardens in the Strathcona area. It is being promoted as a “walkable tour,” meaning gardens are all within comfortable walking distance of one another. Tickets are $12 from Figaro’s Garden Centre at 1896 Victoria Drive or through Britannia Community Centre by phone (604-718-5800), online at britanniacentre.org or in person. For more information, go to http://www.eastsidegardentour.blogspot.ca... Read More …

Want to see some of the prettiest private gardens in Vancouver?
Then set aside some time on June 21 and 22 and pick up your passport for the third annual Heritage Vancouver Garden Tour.
Sixteen gardens will be featured on this year’s two-day tour, including some gems rarely opened to the public.
Some owners had their arms twisted to agree to open their private garden sanctuaries.
They are shy, private people who really prefer ... Read More …

The Vancouver Open is being led by a guy from Vancouver Island.
Victoria’s Cory Renfrew fired a seven-under 65 in Thursday’s first round to grab a two-shot lead at the Vancouver Golf Tour’s marquee event.
Renfrew, a PGA Tour Canada regular who played his collegiate golf at UBC, had eight birdies and just one bogey in his round at Meadow Gardens Golf Course in Pitt Meadows.
Two other PGA Tour Canada regulars, fellow Vancouver Islander ... Read More …

With only one more sleep until the Vancouver Canadians kick off their fourth straight Northwest League championship season the rest of the Blue Jays affiliates are keeping themselves busy, and in the news, with a flurry of roster moves. The most exciting being the promotion of Toronto’s consensus number one prospect and all-round stud Aaron Sanchez. It’s an interesting move and I’d love to have been a fly on the wall as far as ... Read More …

Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane admits he threw three punches at Vancouver resident Lev Makievsky last summer, but claims he was acting in self-defence.
Makievsky, a former nightclub manager, is suing the former Vancouver Giant for assault in connection with an incident that occurred at 2 a.m. on Aug. 10, 2013. Makievsky claims he was returning home from work in downtown Vancouver when Kane assaulted him.
Kane’s lawyers counter that it was Makievsky who ... Read More …

As B.C. teachers announce plans for a full-scale walkout beginning on Monday, June 16, one of the big issues on the table is class size and composition. Which might make you wonder: What are class sizes like at my kid’s school? Well here’s a little chart to help you find out (mobile version here):
This chart is based on a 12,000-row spreadsheet of class-size data I found on the B.C. government’s open data ... Read More …

Imagine running a sub four minute mile. It was a miracle…
It happened in the summer of ‘54 and marked a special sporting moment at the British Empire Games in Vancouver, B.C. which resonated across the globe. With an estimated 100 million-plus world wide listeners and a sold out Empire Stadium crowd of 35,000 on hand to see it live, the unthinkable happened: Roger Bannister and John Landy had just become the first two men ... Read More …

The Vancouver skyline behind Cambie Bridge will be altered dramatically now that Concord Pacific has been granted approval to build two new condo towers at the north end of the bridge.
City council approved the 620 residential units in the two 28- and 30-storey towers but also signalled it wants the company to get a move on building a long-promised park for North False Creek residents.
Residents have complained for years that the park should ... Read More …

Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation has released its long-term transit plan — its 30 year vision and first 10-year investment priorities for Metro Vancouver — along with proposed funding sources to pay for them, ahead of a provincial referendum.
The Mayors’ Council transportation investment plan calls for:
1. A new tolled four-lane Pattullo Bridge
2. New Light Rail Transit lines in Surrey, one of the region’s fastest growing areas
3. Broadway corridor Millennium Line extension ... Read More …

The biggest battle during the World Cup could be for the remote control in B.C. homes, according to an online survey conducted by Insights West.
The majority of B.C. men, 52 per cent of them, say they plan to follow the tournament “very” or “moderately” closely, compared to just 28 per cent of women.
“There are bound to be some interesting discussions about the remote control in BC households during the next month,” says Mario ... Read More …

The B.C. Teachers’ Federation, which is set to stage its full-scale strike on Tuesday, will be bringing out the picket signs today during school lunch hours. The government has locked out teachers during lunch and recess breaks, meaning they can’t interact with students
“Teachers have been advised by the B.C. Teachers’ Federation to honour the government’s lock out at lunch with picket lines. They are locked out,” the BCTF said in a release.
“Supervision is ... Read More …

Good morning. Expect some warm temperatures mixed with scattered showers today. Right now it’s a pleasant 20 degrees in Vancouver.
Here are some of the stories our reporters are working on today.
The biggest story in the province continues to be the B.C. teacher strike. Teachers will begin full-scale strike action on Tuesday but will be out of the classrooms on Monday to attend an all-day, off-site study session. Despite the withdrawal of services, exams ... Read More …

An international political battle to control .ART and with it, a big part of art’s future, is taking place without much attention being paid to what’s going on.
The site of battle is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Based in Los Angeles, the powerful corporation has world-wide control over domain names on the Internet. ICANN is expected to decide very soon on how it choose one of ten applicants to administer ... Read More …

And then there were two . . .
Late last night Leonard Brody emailed me to say he was sending along a note early today. He wouldn’t say what it was about, but it was not hard to imagine that he was likely bowing out as a mayoral contender for the Non-Partisan Association. My views were confirmed when his email arrived shortly after 7 a.m., in which he outlined why he was withdrawing, and why ... Read More …

I recently had to dispose of about 16 wilted broccoli and cauliflowers seedlings just weeks after transplanting them, the result of ambition and bad timing.
They were victims of the cabbage root maggot, which gnaws away at the roots until the circulatory system of the plant is so compromised that the leaves literally collapse under full sun like deflated green balloons.
The larvae of the cabbage root fly hatches from eggs laid around the base ... Read More …

Scientists have successfully mapped the whole genome sequence of the Atlantic salmon, a breakthrough that should accelerate selective breeding programs for farmed salmon and reduce the aquaculture industry’s impact on wild salmon stocks.
“This has the potential to improve the sustainability of aquaculture, to reduce feed demand and increase feed efficiency and it might lead to reduced susceptibility to disease in fish farms,” said Brian Riddell, president and CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation, a ... Read More …